Trader Vics in Dallas, TX Now Open!!

This was sort of already mentioned in the thread about Bellevue, Washington but I think it's worthy of it's own topic for the TC'ers in TX. This is BIG.

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2005/05/30/story6.html

[ Edited by: Kenike 2007-02-25 17:32 ]

[ Edited by: Kenike 2007-03-02 18:37 ]

[ Edited by: Kenike 2007-03-02 18:38 ]

Hey Juno, let me know the date of the grand opening and we can meet there. I have already told my wife and she can't wait to go shopping.

Hey Juno, let me know the date of the grand opening and we can meet there. I have already told my wife and she can't wait to go shopping.

Will do. One year should be enough time to plan a TX TCer's meet.

I know where i'm having my 31st birthday party now. HEY maybe we can talk to the owners after it opens and have a texas tiki event!

http://www.tradervicsdallas.com/

-one man aspiring to be everyone’s favorite unkle.
http://www.unklejohn.com

My Tiki Lounge http://unklejohn.suddenlaunch.com/index.cgi

[ Edited by: Unkle John on 2005-06-17 00:34 ]

I am in. Hey do we know how many Texas TC'ers there are? I think the Canadians just did a head count. We should get everyone to fess-up. Neighboring states are welcome too.

I'm down in Houston, from which we just lost Kilikopela and his wahine to Korea for 2 years :( :(

But we also have RobotParts.

And Almost Human (whom I have yet to see!)

Sooo looking forward to a TV's being back in Texas!!

Hey do we know how many Texas TC'ers there are?

This thread would be a good start: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=6111&forum=4&start=0

...from when we tried to get a TX TCer's get-together some time ago. Unfortunately, some of these folks have been MIA for a while. There was one person called Suelo from Dallas who got into the old Trader Vics and posted a bunch of pics. They're on TC somewhere.

[ Edited by: Juno on 2005-06-17 20:20 ]

Good news guys.. I put the bug in their ear and they are interested in a yearly party! True it's going to be awhile, but that gives us time to get a really good proposal to them. I sent them a link to Hukilou and told them how successful it was.

BTW to the creators of Hukilou..thank you!

Great job unkle john!!!
I'm in for any get together at Trader Vics.I've been babbling to my wife since it was posted here like a freak!
I agree with the "headcount" idea. If we can't meet at a tiki-ish bar, maybe a gathering at a lake. Or better yet everyone go tubin down the guadelupe river.

Waahooo!!!

Being saddened by the lack of authenticity at Tiki Tiki (bar) here in Houston I look forward to many roadtrips to Dallas. I know I'll see Formikahini there probably more than I see her here in our hometown of Houston!!! Hope to also meet more Texan Tikiphiles before Vic's opens in '06 as I'm hoping to have a big luau this year if I can ever finish my home tiki bar.

RobotParts aka Don D'Ablo

This is the best news! Can't wait!

Definitely count me in!

Welcome gretanicole! Always good to see more folks from the Dallas area.

Hey you guys are welcome. I feel bad b/c I could never attend any of the gatherings that Juno put together, so I felt I should put the bug in their ear and hopefully redeam myself as an interested Tx Tikiphile.

I feel bad b/c I could never attend any of the gatherings that Juno put together

That's ok, Unkle, no-one else could attend them either. But hey, if anyone in the DFW area wants to do a get together before next June when TV opens I'm definitely in. I'm sure Unkle John will make the trip from Lubbock.

Great! A TV in Dallas! For the other TX resident tiki-philes, I've recently joined your ranks, and reside in beautiful San Antonio. This is great news, and will be a great excuse for a drive up to Big-D!

Charlie

Oh you can bet i'll be there. I found a short cut from my house that shaves off two hours (come down hwy 114 to jacksboro highway).

Trader Vic's will put that has-been Tiki Bob's in the west end to shame. Heck there is no competition!!

Hey Tekoteko, I am also in SA. Let's get together for a drink sometime. Maybe we could carpool to the next Texas function.
Aloha, Benehune

On 2005-06-20 10:23, Juno wrote:
Welcome gretanicole! Always good to see more folks from the Dallas area.

Thanks Juno! =D

It's so cool to have something to look forward to for a whole year! It'll be that much more fun when it finally opens! I'll have to find a vintage polynesian dress to wear opening night. Will be easy to do with ebay and a whole year in front of me! :wink:

I'm in for whatever.

Juno, we're just moving in this next week but we won't be too far from McKinney. Heck, Providence is almost in Collin County (on 380). We'll shoot you an invite as soon as we find or make a bar....do you do consulting? :o)

Hey Glenn! Good to see you here on Tiki Central!

[ Edited by: Unkle John on 2005-06-26 22:22 ]

...do you do consulting?

Only when under the influence :lol:

Welcome to the neighborhood!

I am sure we will be down from OKC if we are still here...

Tik_Nado mentioned

I am sure we will be down from OKC if we are still here...

Oklahoma City, huh? I ran across a report of a new tiki bar in the Bricktown area a few months ago. Would you know anything about this? I'm never optomistic about new places in trendy areas, but if its halfway interesting, you might have an addition to the locating tiki forum. I occasionally go through OKC (love the Cattleman's Cafe) and would love a tiki diversion.

Oklahoma City, huh? I ran across a report of a new tiki bar in the Bricktown area a few months ago. Would you know anything about this? I'm never optomistic about new places in trendy areas, but if its halfway interesting, you might have an addition to the locating tiki forum. I occasionally go through OKC (love the Cattleman's Cafe) and would love a tiki diversion.

I have not heard a thing about it...weird! Toby Keith opened a Billy-Bob bar / restaurant...but that is the only thing I heard about.

If I hear about it, I will post a review once I partake in the merryment.

I know we're still a long way off but here's some pics of the old/new Trader Vics in Dallas. There's a lot of construction going on at the Palomar and it doesn't appear much has been done yet on the outside of TV, although there was a lot of activity on the roof.

This is the actual building:

I hope they keep the original front door:

man! i can't wait. it will be so nice to have something in driving distance.

by the way, let me make this my official "texas roll call" answer! my fiance Scott and i would love to meet up with other texas TCers. we should definitely have a meet-up at the hukilau, too!

Will Dallas be the closest TV to New Orleans, or is there already one open closer than that? I went to one Tiki-themed bar/restaurant in Houston once (west of the city, right off interstate 10 in a complex which includes an IMAX movie theatre and many other restaurants, but I can't remember the name of the place, sorry) but I'd love to go to a Trader Vic's.

Will Dallas be the closest TV to New Orleans, or is there already one open closer than that?

Dallas will be the closest...unless you want to drive to Atlanta.

For those folks in TX watching for TV's opening in June you may want to read the last 4 or 5 posts on this thread:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1563&forum=1&start=75&89

Thanks to Martiki for helping set the record straight.

Hi! This is long lost Suelo. I did post some pics of the interior of the soon to be Trader Vic's in Dallas when it was still known as the Tiki Room at the Santa Fe Hotel. We've been watching the construction regularly as we live less than 5 minutes away from this soon to be amazing tiki destination in Dallas! We definately need to get a TC group together for the opening. It's been far too long that we've gone without!!!!

Okay, I found the link to my pics.
http://members2.clubphoto.com/kristen204272/1643105/guest.phtml
The hotel is undergoing some MAJOR construction right now, and the only thing going on around the tiki area is that the a-frame that was above the front door has been destroyed. It was pretty run down so I imagine they will reconstruct it. Wow, these pics are about a year & a half old now...I've lost 20lbs. since then & have blond hair...how times change!

Hi! This is long lost Suelo

Suelo! Where have you been??? I'm ready for a Dallas get-together when you are.

Those pics of the interior are great. They're the only ones I've seen of the interior of the Dallas location.

The Dallas Morning News had an article in the Guide section today re: Dallas Trader Vic's reopening in August. Reporter said it was ready to go now and looked great. I think they are waiting on the rest of the building to be finished. Anyone know how to get an advance preview?

From the Dallas Morning News:

** MAI TAI TIME

Yes, those are tiki drums you hear beating in the distance. Dallas' old Trader Vics at Mockingbird and Central is readying for an August reopening in the ultrahip Hotel Palomar (with condos and Exhale spa). During a tour Thursday, Trader Vics looked ready to go, with its original Polynesian carvings, bamboo walls and wicker-basket lights. Dallas' Polynesian passion pit will be run by Jim Sibert, who started the trailer-trash-inspired Double Wide on the edge of Deep Ellum. **

OK, so I guess we're on again?

I freekin hope so!

BTW My band has played at the Double Wide a few times. And yes, it is a double wide mobile home.

http://www.unklejohn.com

My Tiki Lounge http://unklejohn.suddenlaunch.com/index.cgi

[ Edited by: Unkle John 2006-02-27 17:19 ]

I got an email today from the developers.

Part of it said...

"I am working on the Dallas Trader Vic’s . My client is the franchisee and we are working with the corporate office in San Fran.

The original closed over 15 years ago and is intact and slated to reopen in August of this year. The kitchen is being renovated and a new entry corridor will take guests to the original entry and interior. It is part of a massive hotel renovation and mixed use development called Palomar (kimpton hotels from san fran.)

The interior is amazing and we are doing all we can to restore and keep it original. "

...sounds like they're doing it right!

Mahalo James...I guess that makes it official!

Alright! August Tiki road trip!

This is good news, particularly with the rumor of the closing of the Beverly Hills location.

And there's plenty of googie in Dallas/Arlington/Ft Worth, too.

I am SO making the trip for the opening!!

(Please, God, don't let it be on a Friday night after school starts so I can keep my promise!!)

What I want to know is if anyone has heard of an opening date. If you drive by the site, it really doesn't look like the whole building, condos and all could be ready in a few months. It's not up to speed with the typical Dallas "new money" condos that are popping up on every corner. Maybe they will keep the architecture true to the original form?? That would be a novel idea...sorry if I sound a little bitter!
Nevertheless...the tiki's are coming, the tiki's are coming, the tiki's are coming, the tiki's care coming.....

More news on the Dallas Trader Vic's...

From the Dallas Morning News

Tiki me fancy: Trader Vic's to relight the torches

10:04 PM CST on Wednesday, March 8, 2006

ALAN PEPPARD

Grab your coconuts, folks: Polynesian Pop is making a comeback. Luckily for restaurant and nightclub veteran Jim Sibert (State Bar, Double Wide), Dallas' venerable Trader Vic's restaurant has remained virtually sealed in amber since it closed in the spring of 1989. With the South Pacific resurgence, new Trader Vic's locations are opening this year in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Bellevue, Wash.; Chicago; Las Vegas; and Dallas.

Jim owns the local franchise for Trader Vic's. He and general partner Angus Wynne plan to reopen in the original Trader Vic's location (in what was the Dallas Hilton Inn) in late summer concurrent with the opening of the new Hotel Palomar.

Expect a traditional-Tiki- meets-neo-Tiki décor. The original furniture and fixtures are still in place.

"But we've got a treasure-trove of new decorations, furniture and wall coverings that we're adding," says Angus. "Plus there will be a whole new kitchen. Most of the original stuff isn't up to code now." (The Dallas Trader Vic's opened in 1966.)

Angus reports that they are in negotiations with a top-name chef to run the kitchen. "It will be great food," he says, "and, of course, lots of eight-straw drinks."

And don't forget the sexy Polynesian dark ambience conducive to illicit rendezvousing.

"But we've got a treasure-trove of new decorations, furniture and wall coverings that we're adding," says Angus.

Uh oh. I hope he doesn't mean beer posters and strings of little white lights.

On 2006-03-10 12:39, thejab wrote:

Uh oh. I hope he doesn't mean beer posters and strings of little white lights.

Party City brown, purple and green plastic tiki masks...

Has somebody gotten these boys in touch with Bamboo Ben, Crazy Al, etc.?
I know BB is crazy busy with the Kon-Tiki, but I'd sure rather wait for pros like him to do it well, than for it to be done quickly and crappily by any Joe Schmo.

Working for a beer company in Dallas back in the late 90's, I can say the three distributors (Miller, Bud, Coors) are probably beating a path back to TV so they can place thier POS banners, table tents, and just all over. It's a very competative market. I say, let the beer companies have Tiki Bob's (if that discrace is still open) and leave TV alone to the "upper-crust booze conisours" and tiki lovers. I will shed a tear if i see a neon sign or anything (other than a menu) advertizing beer. I love beer, don't get me wrong, I don't think TV needs it.

PS, please send this thread to the owner so he can see our support.

I drive by this location quite a few times a week since I only live about 2 exits up the highway from it. Today was the first sign of construction around the Trader Vic's part of the building. If ANYONE gets wind of an opening date, please post so we can plan a TX TIKI event! Mahalo!

I just moved back to Texas from Boston (where the Tiki lifestyle still has a pulse, albeit a weak and gradually fading one), and heard this wonderful rumor about the Dallas Trader Vic's reopening from a clerk at Lula B's. What great news! If only they'd open one in Austin...

doesn't Austin have Ocean's 11? Damn cheap drinks

Hey everyone, I e-mailed Trader Vic's in Dallas to get an opening date. I was told they plan to open October 1, 2006. Just a few days before Hukilau.

Thought you all would want to know! :wink: